


The Return Of The Prince Part 2

by daughterofdurinanddestiel



Series: Middle Earth Reborn [5]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Anal Sex, F/M, Hair-pulling, Laundry room sex, M/M, Neighbors, Oral Sex, Public Sex, Rebound Sex, Reincarnation, Rimming, Rough Sex, Semi-Public Sex, Sex, Shameless Smut, Smut, middle earth reborn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-22
Updated: 2015-04-22
Packaged: 2018-03-25 05:45:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3798973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daughterofdurinanddestiel/pseuds/daughterofdurinanddestiel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Thranduil leaves Legolas, the Elf prince meets his new downstairs neighbor, a handsome little fellow named Gimli who immediately gets on his nerves...in a the wrong ways. But as Gimli begins to grow on him, his memories of Middle Earth come back and he wonders if this could be the same man he once loved.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Return Of The Prince Part 2

**Author's Note:**

> This might've been the quickest I've written a fic! I am pretty sure this is the last one in this series as well, because I have no other ships (that aren't canon) in the Tolkien fandom. Originally, I had wanted this Neighbors!AU to be Barduil, but it never worked out that way, so I made it Gimlas instead.  
> I also wanted Legolas to have some closure from Thranduil, and I think I succeeded.  
> Enjoy, everyone!

After he woke up alone, with only a little bit of body heat and a faint smell of Thranduil’s cologne to remember his lover by, Legolas did not need his new neighbor to be making a racket loud enough to wake the dead below him. He was already torn between being elated and heartbroken. He didn’t need to add having a headache!

Grumbling to himself about “inconsiderate dolts”, he climbed out of bed and put on his robe. He needed coffee, and, feeling the pains in his lower body, maybe a few aspirin. Thranduil hadn’t been kidding about ruining him, because “ruined” was exactly how he felt his morning.

As he began brewing his coffee, he spotted a piece of stationery that was not his on his coffee table. It was beautiful, bordered in gold and silver, with the heading: “From the desk of T. Greenleaf”.

Why on Earth had Thranduil carried stationery in his messenger bag? Legolas picked up the paper with hands that were suddenly shaky. Written on it was a language made of squiggles and lines, but somehow he could read all of it.

 

_“My Little Leaf,_

_“I am so sorry. I should have apologized to you for a myriad of things back in your first life, but I was, and am, too proud to do such a thing without a lot of wine and prompting. I made so many mistakes when I was your father and king. I cannot begin to count them._

_“Seeing you again was not only a surprise, but it was more beneficial to me than I would’ve thought. Legolas, I have always loved you. You have always had first priority in my heart, but I could not have you then, and I do not deserve you now. You deserve much better than the selfish love that I would give you._

_“Leaving you is the hardest thing I’ve had to do in centuries, but I know it is for the best for you, my son. My love. Because now you can grow, and blossom and become the man you were reborn to be. How I will miss you, Legolas! But I know that what I am doing is right for you. For if we were to be together, it would make you hate me in time, and I cannot have that._

_“That’s why I want to leave you with the night we just had. You’ll carry me with you wherever you go, as I will carry a part of you with me. I do not leave to hurt you, I leave so that you can move on and be happy._

_“I want you to remember me as I was in your bed, as I held you as you fell asleep in my arms. I do not want you to become reacquainted with my many faults._

_“Be at peace that last night meant as much, if not more, to me as it did to you. And know that, no matter how many lives we live, I will love you stronger with each one._

_“Yours forever, Thranduil.”_

 

Legolas didn’t want to cry, but it was impossible for the tears to cease. He had not doubted that Thranduil loved him. How could he, after the display he’d shown him last night? But what he had doubted was the sincerity of that love. Now he knew that Thranduil was putting him first, giving him opportunities he probably hadn’t in Middle Earth. But that didn’t make it hurt any less.

Legolas knew that any man, any lover, would pale in comparison to his king. He knew no love would ever be as strong as the love they had shared. But Thranduil had been right about everything he said, and Legolas took solace in the sincerity.

He folded the note carefully, found and envelope and locked it in a special box he kept his most personal and meaningful possessions in. As soon as his tears slowed, he poured himself some coffee, but as soon as he took his first sip, a tremendous crash came from downstairs, and he could hear voices with thick accents (either Scottish or Irish, he couldn’t tell) cursing loudly.

“Oh, that is _it_!” he said to himself. Having the presence of mind to throw on pants, he went down the stairs to the apartment below him, where he saw a lot of bearded guys trying to fit a massive marble bed frame through the door. What had crashed this time was a lamp they’d inadvertently knocked over in their attempts.

“Excuse me, which if you will actually be living here?” he asked, eyeing all of the men with contempt.

One of them, a man who had to be at least five inches shorter than Legolas’ own five-eleven, stepped up. He was younger than the beard indicated, maybe only a year or two older than Legolas. Legolas was too preoccupied and upset to notice the bright smile and twinkling green eyes. All he thought to himself was, “This bloke looks like a bloody garden gnome!”

“I’m movin’ in. What’s it to you, blondie?” he asked.

“What it is to me is that I live directly above you and your crashing and cursing and general noise-making is driving me up the wall! Do you know what time it is? The sun has barely risen!” Legolas complained.

The little man just smirked. “We’ll try to keep it down, princess,” he said.

Legolas saw red, but he was too worked up already to give a coherent response.

Looking at him, seeing his red, puffy eyes and trembling lower lip, the new neighbor realized that this man--this incredibly sexy man--was not in a good place. Noting the bite marks on his exposed neck and chest, he figured it was a lovers’ quarrel.

“’Ey, look, I’m sorry,” he said, changing his tune. “I’m a wee bit frazzled with movin’ an’ all. We’ll try to keep it down, an’ after today hopefully ya won’t ever hear from me again...unless you want to.” He winked and held out a hand. “I’m Gimli.”

Hesitantly taking the dusty hand, Legolas said, “I’m Legolas. Sorry about being so rude. I’m just having a rough morning, and all the noise didn’t help.”

“As I said, it’s just because of moving. We’ll try to keep it down.”

“Yeah, do that,” Legolas snapped, and he stalked away with a swish of perfect blonde hair, leaving Gimli somewhere between turned on and pissed off.

“What a little pissant,” Gloin, Gimli’s father, commented.

“Yeah, a pissant with beautiful eyes and a great ass,” Gimli muttered before joining his family in helping him carry the rest of his stuff into his place. And if he purposely dropped and crashed and shouted, too bad. Princess Legolas upstairs would just have to deal with it.

 

Legolas needed to get everything off of his chest, so he called his best and closest friend, the one person he could always count on to lend an ear and give him a very blunt (and truthful) opinion.

“Lake’s Weaponry, this is Tauriel. How can I help you?” answered the soft voice he had heard all his life, since his days at the orphanage.

“Taur, it’s me. Tell me the store is empty,” Legolas said.

“For now it is, but talk fast. The owner, Bard, is away for a month opening another store and when he’s gone his fiance takes over and, boy, is he a bitch,” she said.

“Remember those dreams I told you about, about the man with the starlight hair?”

Tauriel laughed. “How can I forget? You swooned over him like I swooned over Orlando Bloom!”

“Well, I met him yesterday. He’s real, Tauriel!” Legolas said.

The silence on the other end of the line spoke volumes: Tauriel was never speechless. “Tell me everything, Leggy!”

And Legolas told her everything, except for being related to Thranduil once. He was pretty sure his best friend would wind up puking and then never speaking to him again. As he got deeper into the night she interrupted him.

“Okay, that’s too much information! What happened after you he plowed you like a cornfield?” she asked, giggling.

Legolas finished his story, unable to stop himself from crying again.

“Oh, Leg, I can’t believe that. I’m sorry,” she said softly. “Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said, wiping his eyes. “I understand why he left, and I am glad he didn’t give me time to see his faults and hate him. Now I’ll always have this one, good memory for the rest of this life.”

Tauriel sighed. “I’m glad you’re taking this so well. Hey, after work, how about I come over with ice cream, whiskey, and my _Pushing Daisies_ DVDs? Help heal your pain.”

Before Legolas could respond, he could hear a man’s deep voice in the background.

“Ms. Starr, if you don’t stop using the company phone for personal calls, you’ll need help with your pain,” he said, his voice as cold and smooth as ice.

Tauriel felt a mix of annoyance and rage. Bard Lake was a wonderful, sweet and caring man. How he had wound up engaged to this asshole was beyond her. She’d met Thranduil Green-something before, a few times. Each time, he’d managed to get pissed at her for some reason or other. She never would’ve been hired as assistant manager had it not been for her irrefutable archery skills.

Thranduil was a beautiful man, but cold. He was always upset about something or other. This morning he seemed particularly out of sorts, and she could’ve sworn she saw bruises on his skin. Had he been in a fight? His hair didn’t look perfect today, either.

“I gotta go, Leg. See you later.” She hung up and Legolas sighed again. At least she’d be bringing the alcohol later!

When Tauriel did arrive, her copper hair intricately braided, she carried pecan praline ice cream and two bottles of expensive whiskey.

“What’s that racket?” she asked, discarding her green coat on a kitchen chair.

“New neighbor. He’s such a little brat--emphasis on ‘little’.” Legolas took one bottle and got spoons from his kitchen before they settled down in front of the TV.

“What?”

“He’s like, five-six if he’s lucky, with a beard the color of your hair. And he’s snarky as fuck, calling me ‘princess’ and purposefully making extra noise because I complained. They have been at it since the asscrack of dawn!” he whined. “With that stupid accent,” he added.

Tauriel hid her amused smile. “What’s his name?”

“Gimli. Gimli Axel.”

As Legolas said it, a thought floated through his mind, _Where have I heard that name before?_ He wasn’t sure, but now that he wasn’t as upset as he was earlier, he could think a bit clearer. He had definitely heard that name before, but was now drawing a blank.

Tauriel had never been privy to the names of Legolas’ paramours from his past life (she was also not privy to the fact that she had lived that life with him), but she did know that Legolas rarely was this bitter about someone he disliked. Something about his ginger-bearded new neighbor had struck his fancy. He was just too much of a drama queen to realize it at that moment.

After they’d finished most of the whiskey and all the ice cream, Legolas was feeling comfortably numb. Ned the Piemaker was on a date with Olive Snook when he laid his head in Tauriel’s lap. “Can you stay over tonight?” he asked.

“Ugh. I wish I could,” she said. “The King of Everything wants me in early to help him with inventory. Thank God Bard will be back before the month is over, or I’d be in jail for tearing his hair out in bloody clumps before I strangled him with it.”

Legolas laughed and Tauriel stayed till he fell asleep. Covering him with an afghan he kept on the back of the couch, she got her stuff and quietly left, locking the door behind her. She didn’t notice the little man peering out his door, wondering what she’d been doing with Legolas.

 

Legolas was thankful that he didn’t get hangovers, because he needed to get ready to go to work. Despite his slim build, he was head of security at a high end store in London and needed to be up and out early. Dressed in his uniform (tight brown pants and a double-breasted forest green jacket that hid a bulletproof vest), he left his house, sunglasses on and not a hair out of place.

On the second floor, he ran into Gimli, who was also going to work at Quercus and Company.

“Good mornin’,” he said.

“Oh. Hi,” Legolas said. A bit more clear-headed, he was able to appreciate the stout but muscular body of his neighbor, and how his green eyes were pleasantly dark and easy to read.

“I saw yer girlfriend last night,” Gimli said, walking down the last two flights with him.

“My who? Oh, you mean Tauriel.” Legolas laughed. “I’m not dating her and--hey, wait, why do I even need to be telling you this? My love life is none of your damn business!” Legolas got into his sleek white car and drove off in a huff.

Gimli grinned to himself before getting on his motorcycle, pleased that he could get such a strong reaction from his new neighbor. He promised himself he’d keep at it till Legolas finally broke and remembered Middle Earth, Minas Tirith and Valinor.

Gimli had been by his side, cheering him up with their friendly competition while Legolas wasted his energy on that human, Aragorn. Gimli had known from the beginning that the would-be king was just biding his time with Legolas until he could marry Arwen. He had tried telling the Elf prince, but he had refused to listen, showing how he had inherited his stubborn streak from his father.

But Gimli had been there, as a friend, confidant and a shoulder to cry on. Later on, after Aragorn’s wedding, he had become Legolas’ lover and the two had remained together until the end of their days. He was the first Dwarf (and might’ve been the only one) to ever sail into Valinor, because the Prince would not have it any other way.

When he’d mentioned it all to Gloin, his father, he’d said, “Not to worry, my lad. It takes people a while to get their memories back. It took Thorin forty-three years, after all. Give him time and don’t leave him be, even for a day. He’ll remember when he’s ready.”

“Yeah, but will he remember before I lost my fucking mind?” Gimli wondered.

 

By the next weekend, Legolas had become irate with Gimli.

The little man was noisy, intrusive and just always there. Every day Legolas had him on his mind and it was driving him up the wall! He was huffy as he got his laundry together, huffy as he walked it to the basement laundry room and became even more huffy when he saw said annoying neighbor was already there, just removing his laundry from one of the dryers.

“Hello,” Legolas sighed, resigned to having no choice but to talk to Gimli or be a complete ass.

“Hey, neighbor.” Gimli grinned, holding his laundry basket before him. “Laundry day for ya, too, huh?”

Legolas nodded. “Yeah, I work weird hours so I take today to do all my chores.”

Gimli nodded. “Aye. Well, see you around.”

Legolas smiled with relief, that the interaction hadn’t been as odious as their previous ones.

For the next two weeks, as soon as Legolas was in the laundry room, so was Gimli. Same time. Every Sunday. Exactly when Legolas liked to do his laundry. He thought about changing his routine, but he didn’t want to. He liked knowing his chores were done by a certain time. But that didn’t mean that he had to stay in the room and chat with the sneaky bastard.

He made it with only a few words of tolerable conversation each Sunday for a month, making excuses as to why he had to go back upstairs for the duration of the wash and dry. He hoped Gimli bought it. It wasn’t that he was annoyed by Gimli as much. It was more that...he kind of liked this little game now. Gimli pushed his buttons, but not in a bad way. Not anymore. Legolas began to smile at his corny jokes and bad puns, he began looking too long into his eyes and reading too much into his innuendos.

Even more, he was afraid that the dreams he was now having were also real. Was this the same man (Dwarf) he sailed into the sunset with (literally) in Middle Earth? Was he just insane? He wanted to ask Gimli, but was too afraid of the answer, afraid their easy way of getting on would be ruined by his fanciful mind.

One Sunday he carried down a less full basket than usual. He actually could’ve skipped doing it altogether, but he really wanted to see Gimli, to joke with him and wonder how he’d look naked...and no! No, no! He hated himself for thinking this way!

“’Ello, Legolas,” Gimli said, sitting in one of the four chairs that was in the laundry room. They were rickety things, mismatched and probably discarded from tenants who moved out decades ago.

“Hey, Gimli,” Legolas replied.

He started sorting his clothes, hands shaking for some reason. He didn’t know why, but somehow the air in the room was charged. He got goosebumps from Gimli’s gaze, and he couldn’t stop the hardening in his pants.

“I’ve been needing to talk to you, Legolas,” Gimli began. “It’s been long enough and I need to know...do you remember me? Aragorn? Middle Earth?”

Legolas had been measuring detergent when his hand slipped, and he spilled some all over his favorite pale green polo shirt. “Damn!”

Gimli smirked. “So you do remember. Why didn’t you say anything?”

Legolas turned around, eyes bright. “Because I wasn’t sure if you were the same Gimli! I was really starting to like you and I didn’t want you to think I was a headcase.”

“You remember everything?” Gimli asked.

Legolas shrugged. “More or less. Maybe not very detailed, but I know how I felt about you back then.”

“You remember after Aragorn?” Gimli wondered.

Legolas nodded, eyes downcast. That had hurt, and it still hurt now to remember it. But Gimli had been there, had waited for him to be over Aragorn before making the relationship just that: a relationship, not just rebound sex.

“You tried to tell me, but I was too blind to see,” Legolas said. “You were always there for me.”

Gimli stood up and walked closer to Legolas, looking up into those sky-blue eyes. “I still care about ya, Legolas, if you think you can still care about me.” He took one of Legolas’ soft, pale hands in his work-hardened one. It felt the same, just the same, rough and warm.

Legolas nodded. “But you should know...things aren’t much different now as they were after Aragorn broke my heart.”

Gimli went from soft to angry in less than a second. “Is that bastard back, too? I’ll give him a what-for if he hurt you again!”

Legolas chuckled. “No. Aragorn isn’t back as far as I know. It was someone else. But don’t worry. I just need time again. Can you give me that?” He ran his nimble fingers over Gimli’s, never breaking eye contact.

“Amralime, I will give you all the time you need.” Gimli reached up and placed a chaste kiss on Legolas’ soft lips, his free hand gently resting on Legolas’ waist.

“I think I got detergent on you,” Legolas laughed, resting his forehead against Gimli’s. “Let me put this in the wash before it gets ruined.”

Same old Legolas, Gimli thought, but all thought flew out the window at the sight of Legolas pulling off his shirt, revealing his pale, smooth, perfect upper body. Gimli always had something to say, but gazing at Legolas made him momentarily speechless.

Legolas started the machine and turned back around, only to be accosted by Gimli’s lips, his bushy and soft beard brushing Legolas’ hairless face.

While he was shocked at first at the suddenness, he quickly wrapped his arms around Gimli’s wide waist and pulled him closer, feeling every taut and defined muscle in Gimli’s body. He was still built like the stone he had once come from.

Rough hands went to the top of Legolas’ jeans, unbuttoning and unzipping rather quickly. Legolas gasped into Gimli’s mouth as a rough hand grasped his already rock-hard cock and began to pump it leisurely.

Legolas tossed his head back and let out a deep moan. “Ah, Gimli...anyone could walk in.”

“Aye,” he replied, smiling mischievously up at him.

At the thought that any of his neighbors--especially that dour-faced Denethor who lived above him and was always bitching at his two sons--could come into the laundry room and catch them, Legolas got even harder and he started to thrust slightly in Gimli’s fist.

Gimli let him go and dragged his jeans down to his ankles, and he went down with them, kissing his skin and ending at the base of his long, pulsing pink cock. He sucked him only for a teasing moment, driving Legolas insane with need. He swiftly turned the Elf around, forcing him to bend over the moving washing machine.

Never in his wildest imaginings had Legolas imagined doing anything even close to this. He was a private person, and now anyone could walk in on him, his ass in the air and-- _oh, by the Valar_ \--Gimli’s tongue rimming his exposed hole. Legolas had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from moaning.

Gimli’s skilled tongue alternated from rimming to thrusting inside, exploring and probing, making him writhe and push his behind back to get even more of him inside.

Gimli stood up and Legolas then felt something hot and hard pressing against his wet hole. Gimli’s rough hands grabbed his hips to hold him in place as he thrust his full, thick length inside of him all at once and Legolas couldn’t even attempt to hold in his yelp. It burned, with only spit to ease the way, but he loved how it felt, how raw and vicious. Gimli wasn’t as long as Thranduil, but he was much thicker, his girth stretching his little-used hole to new proportions.

“ _Fuck_ , Gimli,” Legolas gritted his teeth as the smaller man thrust deep and hard, leaning his weight on top of Legolas.

Legolas’ cock was aching, leaking and rubbing against the vibrating machine. It was like he had his vibrator turned on low and it kept him to full capacity as he was being plowed from behind.

“Are ya close?” Gimli grunted in his ear, holding his pulsing cock deep inside of Legolas. He pinched his bottom playfully.

“Ahh, yes, I am. Gimli, please…” Legolas’ breath was coming in quick pants and his knees were weak, all he wanted was release.

Gimli yanked on his golden hair and pulled, hard, but the pain only turned Legolas on more. This was an avenue he needed to explore further, but right then he needed to deal with all of the sensations he was experiencing at once: the rough tugging on his hair, the strong hand that was now pumping his cock in time with strong, purposeful thrusts that his his prostate with a fury.

He held on to the washing machine, but it was hard to get a good grip onto it, and Gimli’s strong thrusts were slamming his waist into the metal, but he stopped noticing as he saw stars from Gimli’s talented cock filling every inch of him, fucking him raw.

He didn’t bother covering his mouth or biting his tongue as he finally came in hot, long bursts, covering Gimli’s hand and the washing machine’s glass door. Gimli let his hair go and gripped his waist tightly, still slamming into him in a desperate way, abusing Legolas’ overstimulated body until he finally spilled his hot seed deep inside of his love, feeling Legolas’ warmth contract around him and hearing him moan his name.

They stayed like that for a moment, Gimli resting his head against Legolas’ back, pressing small kisses between his shoulder blades.

Legolas could feel his seed leaking down his thighs and finally moved Gimli, grabbing a paper towel from the dispenser to try and clean himself before he pulled his jeans up. Gimli’s satisfied grin matched his own as he also righted his sweats.

“I should clean that,” Legolas commented, gesturing to the machine, now striped with his cum.

“Leave it,” Gimli chuckled. “Get your clothes in the dryer quickly and come with me. I’m not done with you yet.”

 

It was the start of the prince’s second happily ever after. While he never forgot Thranduil, while he always would love the king more than anyone till his dying day, he was able to love Gimli and enjoy his warm, strong presence in his life.

He even got Tauriel a boyfriend, his boss’ younger brother, Frerin. They were all happy, and felt that all was right with the world.

One afternoon, Thranduil came to pick Bard up early for a weekend getaway in Yorkshire. He saw the group posed happily, at the beach, on her cell phone screensaver. Seeing Legolas in the arms of another man--a man he knew was once a Dwarf--nearly broke his heart more than it already was.

“Looks like you had fun,” he commented to Tauriel. “Are they all your boyfriends?”

She looked up, surprised. The Ice King was trying to make a joke? Really? “Funny. The blonde with the beard is my boyfriend. Legolas, the other blonde, is my best friend and that’s his boyfriend.”

“You both look happy,” he commented, seeing the bright smile on his love’s face.

“We are. Legolas finally found a way to mend his broken heart,” she said quietly.

Thranduil took one final look at the man he’d loved for centuries and willed the tears away from his eyes. “As long as he’s happy, that’s all that matters to me,” he said to himself, going off to find Bard.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, maybe there will be a Tauriel/Frerin fic one day. Not soon, because I'm working on other things, but maybe...
> 
> Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this series. I had SO much fun writing it and testing my smut skills!


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